Puppets Pick Apart Plastic Myths
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(January 16, 2022) Folks, we’re hosed. And the hose is made of plastic. Many of you already know the drill when it comes to plastics. We make too much of it–some 367 million tons in 2020. And that number increases each year. We don’t recycle enough of it. According to the EPA, that number hovers around 9%. Furthermore, we might never be able to recycle enough plastic to make a difference. Did I tell you that we manufacture too much of it? And that plastics are forever? Did I mention that plastics cause much of our climate change? And that far too many people buy into plastic myths?
Like I said, we’re hosed. We know we’re hosed. I learned that when I discovered that most of the linked articles above were written in the past few weeks. What are we doing about it? Not much. However, we can fight back. And that starts with…puppets?
Enter the 2022 Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. This group wants no less than to make Chicago the puppet capital of the world. That quest begins by making this festival the largest of its kind in North America. After a year off for the pandemic, the 2022 version runs January 20-30, 2022. The event features 100 performances and events at dozens of venues, neighborhoods and with community collaborators all around Chicago. Of course, COVID-19 protocols will be practiced at all sites.
The Plastic Bag Store
Meanwhile, we were talking about plastic and plastic myths, right? So, welcome to the Plastic Bag Store! Award-winning artist Robin Frohardt created this tribute to our plastic-inundated world in 2020. Regardless of the pandemic, it opened in Times Square, where it was named to the NY Times Best of 2020 Theater list. Now, the store moves to the Wrigley Building in Chicago. Walk inside and you’ll see fruits, vegetables, food boxes, rotisserie chickens, cupcakes, sushi, soft drinks and more. Remarkably, all are handcrafted from discarded, single-use NYC plastic trash. What a country!
But where are the puppets, you ask. Several times a day, the Store transforms from an installation into a micro-cinema for a series of dynamic puppet-films that transport the audience from the distant past into a dystopian future. Aren’t we there now? Regardless, the installation will bend your mind. And it runs for the entire length of the festival.
However, there’s so much more to see. I suggest you go to the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival website and take a look at what it has to offer. Festival founder and artistic director Blair Thomas joins us today, along with artist Robin Frohardt.
But you know me. I can’t resist a serious discussion about recycling and plastic myths. So, to complement Frohardt’s artistic vision about plastic, we welcome Marta Keane, President of the Illinois Recycling Foundation. (Full disclosure: I am a board member of the IRF.) She is also Will County Recycling Program Specialist. How did plastic take over our lives? How can we fight back? Can we literally save the planet? Tune in and be part of the conversation.
What We Leave Behind
BTW, Robin Frohardt will participate in a free online discussion as part of the Festival’s weekend symposium series, Saturday, Jan 22, 1-3 pm. It’s called What We Leave Behind: The Plastic Object Geological Layer. It’s part of a series of talks at the festival. More information here.
Mike and Peggy look at the news
Time for more environmental stories. First, though, Peggy will highlight the best of the January issue of Natural Awakenings Chicago Magazine. Finally, we might discuss these stories. Or not. Stay tuned.
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